I have two questions for the Kirkland City Council and the City Manager. Have you walked the CKC (Cross Kirkland Corridor) trail from one end to the other? Have you used Metro buses on the eastside and specifically through Kirkland?

The city of Kirkland has identified and signed large areas along the CKC path as environmentally sensitive areas, which include wetlands and steep slopes. Will the city ignore their own environmental regulations, including Washington State Department of Ecology laws and regulations so they can build a bus or rail system? Dear City Council, you don’t let private property owners fill in wetlands or construct on steep slopes, so why can government do this?

Secondly, it may surprise the City Council and City Manager, but we already have bus service that crosses Kirkland from Totem Lake to the South Bellevue Park and Ride. We have transit centers adjacent to Evergreen hospital, downtown Kirkland and the park and ride. There are multiple bus lines that crisscross Kirkland. We don’t need to spend $70-90 million on another bus line. What we need is increased frequency and expansion of Metro bus service through and to Kirkland and simply expand what is already in place.

Come on (Mayor) Amy (Walen), get out of that new car you drive and take a bus and see what is out there. If the council wants to leave a legacy, how about leaving a beautiful greenbelt and trail that goes the full length of Kirkland. Valuable open space, in an urban area will have more value in 30 years than a bus system that cuts through neighborhoods, parks, roadways and school areas.

Patrick Harris, Kirkland